The Hunt
by Angelus07
Summary: Edward has left Bella and a new guy shows up at Forks High School. He introduces her to a whole new world vampires. Is he a good distraction, or just a really bad idea? (OC, Canon Compliant. Diverges after Edward leaves, new plot and additional backstories.)
1. Introductions

Charlie's fist smashes against the table, making my cereal bowl tremble. "That's it Bella! You're going home."

Confusion obvious on my face, I rip my eyes away from my bowl of cheerios towards Charlie's enraged eyes. Why does this cereal have such a happy sounding name when there's clearly no joy left in the world – when there had been no joy for the last four months. No joy since _he_ left.

"That's exactly what I mean," Charlie says, making me realise I didn't actually answer him. "I'm sending home, you're not even _here._"

"I _am_ home, Ch– Dad," I say. My eyes feel too strained from my lack of sleep to even hold his gaze.

"No, I mean you're going home to your mother. To Jacksonville. Maybe she will know how to handle you because right now I haven't got the slightest clue."

This hardly seemed fair. I had been a great daughter over the last few months. His dinner was always ready when he got home. We hadn't even had a fight since I'd thrown my mom's words in his face so that I could get out of town. Granted I had only said those things because I was being targeted by a crazed blood-thirsty vampire.

"What are you talking about? Why? I want to stay here." I can't leave. What if _he _comes back and thinks I didn't even wait for him.  
"I haven't missed curfew, I haven't been fighting with you, why do you want me to go?" I ask, hurt. Not even my own father wants me.

"That's the point Bells," Charlie's eyes grow sadder as he sits down next to me. "You don't miss curfew because you never go out except for school and groceries. And this is the longest conversation I think we've had in months. You're not alright sweetheart and maybe your mom will be better than I am at helping you deal with your break-up with Edward. You just… you can't keep waiting for him to come back."

Hearing his name causes my heart to shatter all over again. "I have to get to school," I stand up and throw my bowl into the sink.

"I'm going out with Jessica tonight." I call over my shoulder as I focus on my backpack so I don't have to make eye contact. "We'll go watch a movie or something in Port Angeles and have dinner."

As I reach the door I hear Charlie almost whisper, "Bells".

I pause and take deep breath with my back to him and I say, "I'll be alright, Dad. I just need to stay here". I close the door behind me before he can respond.

The worst part about getting to school early is the free time. My mind isn't a big fan of not keeping busy, so I throw on my headphones and play whatever angry rock song was next up on my playlist. I pull out my calculus textbook. Mr. Varner is probably giving a pop quiz this week so I may as well be prepared. I spend the twenty free minutes I have sitting in the driver's seat, focusing on numbers.

My distraction keeps me occupied just in time to get to my English class. I'm drawing spirals and leaves in the margins of my notebook instead of paying attention, but hey, I already know English so how much can I really be missing?

We're ten minutes into the class when someone shows up at the door.

"Ah Mr Housley, we were expecting you," Mr Berty says cheerfully. I definitely was not expecting anyone.

"Sorry I'm late Mr –uh –Berty," the guy at the door says, looking at the recognisable class list in his hand. "I asked someone for directions and they sent me on a wild goose chase." He smiled.

"Anyone can be forgiven on their first day, my boy. Be sure to use the map next time. As the tragedies we will be studying in this class will teach you, you can't trust anyone!," Mr Berty says with a laugh.

"Now, take a seat next to Miss Swan in the third row," he gestures towards me. "She was new here once as well, so I'm sure she'll be happy to help you settle in." He turns away from the new guy and returns to his earlier ramblings about whichever play I wasn't paying attention to.

'Mr Housley;' settles in the seat next to me and smiles. "Hi," he says. "I'm Liam." He reaches a hand out in a friendly gesture. He seems so sincere that I accept the offer of a handshake and introduce myself. His eyes widen for a fraction of a second. His face returns to normal so quickly I might have imagined the shift in his expression.


	2. The New Guy

The bell rings out, cutting Mr Berty off mid-sentence, and students start scrambling out the door. As I'm packing my books into my backpack, half the bag's contents fall to the floor. I groan quietly, I can feel my face growing red as a couple of people in class look at me, Liam included. Most of my classmates are used to my clumsiness by now but I'd recently made it a point to _not_ make a spectacle of myself. That didn't last long. My eyes turn to the doorway – Eric Yorkie stands by the door shaking his head with a laugh to his group of friends. I can almost hear him saying, "classic Bella".

I crouch down to repack my stuff and find Liam already there gathering my books and the three pens that rolled out of the bag.

"Oh," I say, biting my lip nervously. "Thank you." I pick up the bag and he slides my belongings in.

"No worries," he smiles. "You can thank me by walking with me to Calculus class. No use for me to wander around on my own since you've got it too."

"How do you know I have Calculus next?" I ask lamely. I'd been stalked by a crazy vampire before. A human stalker only sounds slightly less frightening.

"Your schedule fell out with your books," he finds my questioning funny apparently, because his laugh brightens up his eyes. And for the first time I notice their colour. Not the lively amber or gorgeous black I could barely picture anymore, but a deep shade of green. "I'm not stalking you, I promise." It's almost like he can read my mind. I dismiss the thought, not because hearing someone's thoughts is impossible, but because I don't need reminders of the only mindreader I do know.

"Of course… sorry. It's been a weird year."

"Yeah? Mine too." His expression Maybe we can share horror stories sometime."

"How do you like Forks so far?" I ask as we head off to Calc. Liam's simple response that a quiet place is a good place to be puts me at ease. This was the first conversation I found at least somewhat easy in a long time. Liam had no idea about my past. If I could delay our chat about the last year I would. It felt good to not be in a constant dread over _his _name being mentioned, even if I knew that, when I got home, the despair would set in again.

"Want to go to Port Angeles after school?" I blurt out before I lose my nerve and just go home to mope around Charlie. I told him I'd be going out with Jessica, but there's no reason why I couldn't invite someone else too.

"I mean, I was going to ask my friend to go and maybe you'd like to meet her?" I sound like an idiot. He cocks his head to the side slightly like he's trying to read the awkwardness in my expression. "You don't have to. I remember when I was knew, everyone came up to me to introduce themselves and it was overwhelming but it was nice to have friends so fast, you know?"

"Yeah," he says. "I'd like that."

After Calculus, I take a deep breath and approach Jess. I've barely spoken to her lately. I should have asked her if she wanted to come before I'd invited Liam. The last thing I wanted was to have to explain why I'd alienated all my friends.

"Jess."

"Bella," Jessica's eyes widened. "Are you talking to me now?"

My face reddened and I tried to play innocent. "Yeah of course. I know we haven't seen much of each other recently so…" Another deep breath. "Liam and I were thinking of going for a movie after school. We'd love for you to come."

"Oh! The new guy wants to get to know me, right?" She glances over her shoulder, appraises him, and turns back to face me. "Yeah, sure. I'll come." I'm too shocked by her acceptance to try and correct her. No harm done. I guess things aren't going so great between her and Mike.

She grabs my arm and the contact shocks me for a second. We just went from not talking to her dragging me across the room. Say what you want about Jessica Stanley, but she's not one to shy away from a situation.

"Hey, new guy," Jess actually flips her hair. "Do you need a ride after school?"

"uh.. no I'll be alright. My ride only fits two so I was thinking I'd pick Bella up and we'd meet you at the movie theatre." He faces me, "if that's alright with you?"

I agree and the rest of the day goes by in its usual blur, until lunch. I spend lunch trying not to look across the cafeteria, to the table that I know will now be full of students I don't know. I can't look knowing I won't see the dark pixie cut of the girl who used to be my best friend, the gorgeous light-haired twins that weren't twins at all, the muscled bear-like figure of the closest thing to a big brother I ever had, and most of all, the bronze haired, self-sacrificing jerk that left me and took his family – my friends – with him. So instead I talk to Liam.

"My dad's childhood friend lives around here. He's my Godfather so I thought I'd come stay with him for a while – to see how life is in Forks. It's way different that L.A. but I think I'll have a few things to keep me busy."

"Wow L.A.? That explains the tan." Jess joins the conversation. She's smiling a little too much and I notice her glancing over at Mike, making sure he's noticing her paying attention to another guy. Gotta love high school.

After school, I drive home, grab my stuff and wait outside for Liam to pick me up. I startle when I hear the roaring noise approaching my house. A guy on a motorcycle turns onto my street and speeds down like he's being chased. Why would you ride a motorcycle in the rainy town of Forks? Charlie lectured me when I was a kid about the dangers of them – as a cop he's seen his fair share of accidents involving inexperienced young riders. This guy seems to know what he's doing, though. But I can only imagine how soaked-through his clothes must be. Poor sap.

Next thing I know, the guy stops the motorcycle, right in front of me. I start thinking of all the self-defence moves Charlie taught me over the years in case this creep tries anything. Maybe he just needs directions.

He takes off his helmet and, it's Liam.

"Ready to go?" He grins.


	3. Port Angeles

"You wanna ride _this_ all the way to Port Angeles?" My jaw drops. I'm hanging out with an insane person.

"Not a fan of bikes huh?" He smirks. "Or your parents aren't?"

I could try to convince Liam to let me drive us there in my truck. I promised Charlie I'd never accept a ride on a motorcycle. And I had made other promises.

_Don't do anything reckless or stupid. _I hear the words again in my mind. _His_ voice as clear now as they were that day in the forest. But he had broken his promises too.

My mind goes back to the night James hunted me. Not to the fear and pain of vampire venom flowing through my veins. No, my mind goes back to even more dangerous thoughts. Lying in my hospital bed with him watching over me, his hands holding my face and telling me, _I'm not going anywhere… As long as it makes you happy, I'll be here. _And I had truly believed him. Up until he left me alone in that damn forest I had believed him.

I bring my attention back to Liam, if only to keep myself sane.

"No," I say. "This is great. Let's go." I pull on the helmet he's holding out for me and hop on. I guess we're all breaking promises now.

As the bike speeds up and adrenaline fills my veins, I take back every bad thing I've ever said about motorcycles — this is amazing. I look over Liam's shoulder as we ride, relishing in the way speed _looks. _This is how I'd always imagined the Cullens must feel when they run. I watch the trees whooshing by until the freezing wind makes my face feel like an ice block. I shield my face from the cold behind Liam's back, turning my head to the side so I don't miss a second of this ride. But something's wrong, he's slowing down, and disappointment hits me harder than the wind.

"You okay back there?" Liam shouts over the roaring of the motorcycle. "I can slow down if you're scared."

"No!" I shout, — a little louder than necessary — even with the bike's screaming. "Faster!"

I feel Liam's laugh ripple through his body before he says, "you asked for it" and the bike lurches forward even faster than before. A scream escapes my lips and I wrap my arms more securely around his waist. Falling off a speeding vehicle is not something I want to explain to Charlie.

We arrive to Port Angeles way too soon for my liking. If I didn't feel so bad about neglecting my friendships these last few months I would be tempted to call Jess and cancel. Not that I don't want to see her, I just want to feel the rush of being on the bike again.

"That was incredible," I tell Liam as we walk over to the movie theatre. "It feels like flying."

"I'm glad you liked it. I've been riding for so long I guess I've forgotten how exciting it is for someone who isn't used to it. Now I just think how miserable the weather is, or I hope to get where I'm going before it starts raining."

"If you keep focusing on the destination, you'll just miss the joy of the ride," I tell him.

"Awfully deep for a seventeen-year-old," he chuckles.

"I'm eighteen," I say. Saying those words still seems unfair. I had hoped I wouldn't reach my eighteenth birthday, and the way it turned out I wish I hadn't. If you think being attacked by a vampire you don't know is tough, imagine being attacked by your out-of-control almost-brother-in-law. But it wasn't Jasper's fault. I forgive him. I just it hadn't led to _him_ leaving.

"Liam! Bella! Over here!" Jess's voice calls us over, she's already at the ticket booth waiting for us. She waves the movie list at us. Our options are this new rom-com, a zombie movie, and this sci-fi movie about aliens taking over.

"I vote rom-com," she says. "Sci-fi is more Eric Yorkie's style." Jess pauses, waiting for me to laugh at her joke.

"Aliens sound good to me." Liam saves me from debating the romance. The last thing I want is to see a loved up on-screen couple.

"Yeah, humans are overrated," I agree. Jess doesn't look too thrilled but she accepts being outvoted — I'm glad I brought Liam along.

Jess walks between Liam and me, chatting his ear off about upcoming school events and what living in L.A was like. I'm thankful that the weight of socialisation is taken off of me for a while, and by the time the lights go dim for the movie to start, Jess has said more to Liam than I had all day.

Halfway through the movie, the male lead tells his best friend he loves her and that he's sorry it took an alien invasion for him to realise it. I realise this scene is probably going to go on for a while and getting Charlie off my back isn't worth suffering through love stories.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I tell Jess and Liam before I rush out of my seat, blocking out the sounds blasting through the movie theatre speakers.

I grab a seat in front of the confectionery waiting for the romance to play out. My throat feels dry. That's when I realise I'm fighting back tears. Not here, please not here. I try to clear my throat and get up. I need a coke. My mind whirrs with thoughts of a beautiful meadow and an even more beautiful boy.

Liam is in front of the confections before I get there. "Bella, you okay?"

"Yeah, just thought I'd grab a drink before heading back in. You want anything?"

"You've been gone for half an hour. At first I thought you were just fixing your make-up or something, but I got worried." He's looking at me with such concern, I feel guilty.

"I guess I just got distracted." I force a realistic smile and pull him back in the direction of the theatre.

The last half hour of the movie is a lot better. A few minutes in he leans towards me and whispers, "I wish the aliens would hurry up and eat this guy already". His interjections come in every few minutes until the credits roll.

"Its a shame the aliens didn't win, the females were hot," Liam shares his after-movie thoughts as the three of us walk towards the parking lot.

"Ew, they only had one eye!" Jess says, repulsed. I laugh, half at Liam's comment and half at Jessica's reaction. Jess shakes her head. "It was good hanging out again, Bella" she looks at me. "Let's do this again — next time let's pick a movie you won't want to miss half of." I try not to blush. I hadn't realised how obvious my disinterest was.

"Aren't we going to have dinner?" I ask her.

"Is it alright if we rain-check?" She blushes. "Mike texted me, he's around here and wanted to talk to me." Her eyes are practically shining with giddiness, so I can't even try to deny her. She's been crazy about Mike for as long as I can remember.

"Of course," I say. "Good luck."

"And then there were two," Liam says. "Dinner?"

"Yeah, I told my dad I wouldn't be home for dinner and at least that's a promise I can keep." I smile, and walk towards his bike. He shakes is head and grabs my arm, steering me in the opposite direction.

"How about a walk instead?" He suggests. "Theres a great pasta place a few minutes away."

I agree, disappointed my next adrenaline rush has been delayed, but allow him to lead the way.

"Wait, aren't you new around here? How do you already know a place to eat?" I ask.

"I lived in Forks when I was a kid. We moved to LA when I was about thirteen because my dad's job needed him there, but I still remember coming to Port Angeles all the time with my mom." He smiles at the memories and I can picture him perfectly as a ten-year-old running around the city. The carefree image suits him.

"So you're taking me somewhere you used to like as a kid?" I ask. "Oh no, you're taking me to _Chuck E. Cheese _aren't you?" I tease. He laughs and shoves me aside playfully.

"So, who is he?" Liam says cooly.

The change of subject is so fast it startles me. "Who's who?"

"The guy who broke your heart." Liam says. Direct. There's apparently no such thing as easing in when it comes to Liam.

I just stare at him and wait for him to elaborate on his assumption. "You couldn't even watch the extremely fake loved-up on-screen couple. I get it, heartbreak sucks. I just wanted to tell you I'm happy to listen if you want to talk about him. Or happy to shut up if you don't."

"You noticed?" And here I thought I was hiding it so well. "Is that why you wouldn't shut up when we went back in? So I didn't have to watch?"

"Yup," he says simply. "That and the terrible dialogue was excruciating."

I regard him slowly. "Thanks," is all I say.

He accepts this as my not wanting to talk about it.

"So, why didn't your parents move to Forks with you?" I ask, steering the conversation in a new direction.

"My dad's not the biggest fan of my decision to come out here. If he had it his way I'd be in L.A working with him. I just wanted to branch out on my own for a bit." He looks out into the distance.

"That makes sense, he probably worries about you. I know Charlie worries about me too." I try to be supportive. I've been enough of an asshole to my own dad to understand parental tension. "What about your mom? Is she supportive?"

A small half-smile appears on his face. "She was."

"Oh… I'm sorry." Way to put a foot in my mouth. Here he was telling me about tension with his father and I have to drag his dead mother into it. I can't imagine he would want to discuss this any more than I want to discuss my past.

"No, it's alright," he says, surprising me. "I like talking about her. My mom was the most supportive woman in the world. I know everyone says that about their mom, but everyone else is wrong. She was incredible, the strongest person I ever knew. I swear she could probably kick my dad's ass in a fight." He chuckles to himself.

Before I know it, we're outside an Italian restaurant. _Bella Cucina._ He laughs and insists he had forgotten what the restaurant was called. We finally eat our dinners and the conversation returns to a friendly, less intense chatter.

We're stuffed with pasta and heading back to where the motorcycle is parked when I see her. A dark haired woman standing in the middle of the street. She's gorgeous — pale, lean and definitely not human. Her feline movements almost cause me physical pain with the memories they bring. She's walking towards us.

"Oh hello," she says to a man, maybe in his thirties, standing just a few feet away from her. Her voice is smooth and beautiful, almost hypnotising. The man seems flattered to be receiving attention from someone so beautiful. My body tenses, it's getting late and there's only one thing vampires usually want from humans at this time. I don't need to need to see her eye colour to tell she's not one of the good ones. It's written all over her movements: she's a predator. And she's on the hunt.

"We need to go," I tell Liam, when I realise we both stopped walking when we saw her. He's watching her too, taking in her every word and movement. His eyes turn to me for half a second and return to her.

"No. You need to run, Bella. Go into the city and find Jessica. She's probably still here." He pauses, eyes still on the vampire woman coaxing her prey, and hands me his wallet. "Or take this and get a cab."

"What are you talking about? You're coming with me!" I whisper-shout at him. I don't know why I'm even whispering since vampire hearing is ridiculously sensitive and she could hear our blood moving in our veins if she cared to listen.

"Bella," he spares me another glance and I see agony in his eyes. "_Please,_ you have to go. I'll explain tomorrow."

I can't leave him here, is he insane? I feel the rush I felt on the bike, but multiplied by a thousand. My muscles shake from the effort it's taking not to grab onto him and run.

"I know you know what she is. So run now before she gets bored of him and adds you to the menu!" He whisper-shouts when I don't say anything. My eyes widen. He _knows_?

I'm about to ask more questions but, before I can even open my mouth, he does the stupidest thing I've ever seen: he runs towards her.

I hear the sound sound of Liam crashing into stone and my instincts take over. I run.

My heart thuds the whole way to the restaurant Jess had mentioned. I stand outside for a few moments, trying to control my breathings and slow my heart rate down before I call her.

"Hey," I say into my phone, "are you still around?"

"Yeah we just finished dinner, you sound freaked out. Are you okay?"

"Yeah sorry. Liam had some family trouble and has to stay here for the night." The lie escapes my lips so smoothly I don't know where it came from. "Would you mind if I ride home with you — I can totally wait for you and Mike to finish, I'll go grab a coffee and you can let me know when you're ready?"

I can practically hear the smile in her voice when I mention Mike. The ride home is definitely going to consist of her telling me all about the date. Which is great because I don't want to think about what I just witnessed. I walk over to the diner next door and pull my phone out again.

"911 what's your emergency?"

"Hi I'd like to report a –uh –animal attack," I say. "A young guy with dark hair and green eyes. He was attacked, and there was an older man there as well I'm not sure if he was hurt as well – I just –I just ran for help."

"Can you give me a location? We'll dispatch a team right away."

I give them the name of the street we were on, hang up and walk into the diner. I keep my eyes focused on the diner's television waiting for a news report about the 'animal attack', waiting for _some_ news on Liam. My mind is spinning. What did he mean, "I know you know what she is"? He knows about vampires? Why would he sacrifice himself like that? Did he want to be killed? Or changed?

_You wanted that once, _I hear _his_ voice in my mind. Reminding me of all the dreams I once had about becoming once of them. Is that what Liam wanted? What if they don't find his body because he's not dead? What if she changes him? Would he change me?

_Don't even think about it_, the voice tells me, _you promised, nothing reckless._

"And you promised me forever," I answer quietly to no-one. "I guess we're both out of luck."

Jess meets me twenty minutes later, and talks about Mike on the walk to car, and the whole drive home. She's so distracted by her own fairytale she doesn't notice my terror, which means I get away with fake smiles and nods in between her talking. I turn her car radio on in the background in case they announce anything.

Jess is in the middle of planning her next date with Mike when we pull up to my driveway and the broadcast is interrupted.

"This is a message from the Port Angeles Police Department. We are currently investigating multiple animal attacks around the city and tonight, we received a call about such an attack. One of our teams was dispatched to investigate the location and saw no evidence of any struggle. We believe the caller to have been a prankster and this announcement is to inform residents that we will begin prosecuting any prank calls made to the police department. It is imperative that we keep our focus on ongoing cases and are not distracted by hoax emergencies."

I freeze. A hoax? They didn't find him.


	4. Venandi

_It's dark and cold. The moon is the only source of light as I stumble along the seemingly endless path. There are too many trees in the way, scratching my bare arms as I push their branches aside. He's got to be here somewhere. The forest gets colder by the minute, I can't see myself but I can bet my lips are blue by now. I hear a rustle from a few feet away. _

_"__Edward!" I call out to him. "I know you're out here." I follow the rustling and I see his silhouette — even at this distance, seeing him causes an ache in my stomach. I step towards him and he turns to face me. _

_"__No, Bella." His voice is as beautiful as I remembered, but he's not looking at me. His eyes are turned to the moss-covered ground. "I told you, I don't want you anymore."_

_"__Then why are you here?" I'm getting angry now. "Why didn't you just stay away?" Why was I even out here? _

_"__I tried," he says. "But there's one thing I couldn't forget. One thing that didn't change, even when my feelings did." His voice is cold and distant. He talks about his feelings as though they had merely been a minor annoyance in his past. _

_"__What then? You're clearly not the same person I loved. He could never be so cruel. So what's remained the same?" I should walk away and just let him sulk. He was always good at being broody. _

_"__That's the _point, _Bella." His voice turns harsh. A tone he's never used towards me. Even when he ripped my heart to shreds in this very forest he at least sounded like he cared to some degree. There was none of that now. "I'm not a _person_ at all. I'm a vampire and I told you once: you are _exactly_ my brand of heroin." He pauses, as if for dramatic effect, and continues, "and I want a hit". _

_He finally lifts his eyes from the ground to look at me. He's in front of me in less than a second. His eyes are locked on mine, but they're so very wrong. Not the gorgeous topaz I had loved so much, or even the deep black of hunger. Edward's eyes are a glowing red. My veins feel as though they are filled with ice water rather than blood. His arms lock around me and he slowly pulls me so my neck is in line with his mouth. _

_"__I'm sorry your death will be slow and painful, but I want to savour this." _

_I shut my eyes in preparation for the burning pain I know is to come, but instead I feel Edward being yanked away from me. My eyes fly open and there's another guy, his back to me, looking at Edward who's now on the ground looking surprised and annoyed. _

_"__Bella, run!" The guy, whose voice I finally recognise as Liam's, says. He charges for Edward and a bloodcurdling scream escapes my lips._

I wake up drenched in sweat, half expecting Charlie to rush into my room from my screaming. He was used to my nightmares by now. I'd been having them — actually just _one_ nightmare — for a while now, but this one is new. Deciding against trying to go back to sleep, I go to the bathroom, grab the laundry basket, and chuck Charlie's clothes along with mine in the washing machine. I may as well get some chores done before my shift at Newton's.

Working at the Newton's sporting goods store has its advantages. Most of my tasks keep me busy, which is great because the less free time I have, the better. But most of my work is menial enough that I don't need to pay _super_ close attention. This becomes even more evident when I finally look up from shelving some camping chairs to realise that Mike is talking to me.

"I was just saying, you can leave early today. It's pretty slow."

I open my mouth to tell him I don't mind staying when a customer's entrance distracts me. Liam walks in casually, like last night hadn't even happened. He's alive. And _human_ — not lying in some alley writhing in pain as the change happens. How the Hell is he okay?

"Hey guys," he says, looking from Mike to me. "Can we talk?" He says to me. Mike walks away, giving me an apologetic glance, as though he can tell Liam was the last person I expected to see here.

"How did you know I was here?" I ask him. I didn't remember mentioning where I worked. His stalker tendencies are becoming increasingly suspicious. Though last night's events may just be making me paranoid.

"I wanted to call you when I got home last night, but then I remembered that I didn't actually have your number, or any way of checking that you were okay after… you know." He raises his eyebrow and glances toward where Mike is standing, probably to make sure he couldn't hear us. "So I asked around, if anyone knew where I could find the police chief's daughter. There are no secrets in Forks. At least none concerning people's whereabouts."

Mike's voice cuts our conversation off. "Guys, check this out," he waves us over to a ginger-bearded customer. "Tell them."

"I saw a huge black bear out in the woods. Taller than any of us, even on all fours. I got the Hell out of there real quick." Ginger Beard says.

I roll my eyes, and turn to Liam, "Mike said I can leave early, so give me ten minutes to wrap things up here and we can go."

"Sure." He heads over to chat with Mike while I get ready to leave, and a few minutes later we are in my truck heading to La Push beach.

"So, why La Push?" He questions my choice of location.

"I kind of associate it with scary stories." I glance out the window before continuing, "a friend of mine told me an old vampire legend when I went there last year. May as well keep the tradition alive." I shake my head slightly remembering that day on the beach with Jacob, the first time I heard about the _cold ones._

"Sounds like a solid friend." Liam's chuckle is low in his throat. This is the first time I notice how tired he sounds.

"Well the last time I saw him, he crashed my prom to suggest I break up with my boyfriend, so you could say things got a bit awkward." I laugh at the memory.

Liam's eyebrows fly up in surprise. "Seriously? Did your boyfriend punch him in the face?"

"No, it was his dad that had the problem," I say. " I bet he's _thrilled_ with the way things ended".

"Nah. Even if he didn't like him, I don't think anyone would be thrilled that you're unhappy. Especially not if he cared enough about you to try to end your relationship with someone he didn't think was good enough for you." He pauses. "And he hurt you, right? So maybe your friend's dad had a point." He says the words so casually. Like it all made perfect sense, when it feels like nothing make sense in my life right now.

"No," my protests are purely out of habit at this point. "He didn't have a problem with Edward because he wasn't good enough. He just… it's complicated."

"Edward?" Liam repeats the name. "He _let_ you call him that? I had a friend back home with that name but he hated it — we just called him Eddie. Sounds like your Edward had an old soul," Liam teases.

"You could say that," I laugh. He has no idea how right he is. And then I'm hit with a realisation — this is the first time I've said his name. And the first time I've not felt like I've been hit by train at the sound of someone else saying it.

"Okay, so start talking." I say to Liam as we find a spot to sit at the beach, needing to return the conversation to the main goal of us coming here. And to move away from the topic of Edward.

"What do you want to know?"

"_Everything,_" I say, annoyed he even has to ask. "Start with what you meant by 'I know you know what she is'." My mimicking of his voice is so far from accurate it makes him laugh.

"First of all, I don't sound like that." He says, and I roll my eyes. "And second of all…" He reaches out and takes my hand. It takes me a moment to realise what he's doing but I glance down at my hand in his. He runs his thumb across the crescent-shaped scar — my reminder of that awful night with James.

"When I shook your hand in class it caught my attention. There's only one type of scar that's always _cold_." He gives me a knowing look. "But you're not one of _them_ and you're not dead or junkie. So I figured you were saved somehow, and maybe you didn't know for sure _what _attacked you. Until I saw your reaction when that vamp showed up last night. You were on-guard immediately and I knew my only choice was to tell you to run."

"But why didn't _you_ run?" I ask. "I don't understand how you're alive right now. You ran _towards _the dangerous thing instead of away from it, and yet…" I gesture towards him as if to say_ and yet here you are. _

_"_Yeah well, I'm used to them," he pauses. "I'm part of this group… we call ourselves the Venandi. We hunt vampires."

I stare at him for a second and a laugh escapes my throat. "But you can't," I say this like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "They're too strong. They'll kill you before you can get close."

Its Liam's turn to roll his eyes at me now. "Well, I'll be sure to tell that to the dark-haired vamp from last night. Oh wait… I killed her." His face is serious, and I realise he's actually not joking. He sees the questions written all over my face and he sighs.

"My parents lived in Canada when they got married — you'd be amazed how many vampires walk around there, undetected. And my folks became obsessed with these beautiful but dangerous creatures. They learned everything they could about them and eventually they found out about the venom junkies." He shudders.

"Junkies?" I ask.

"The thing you need to understand is that some people _want_ to be bitten. My parents told me about this vampire bar they went to in Montreal. They hid away in a corner and got away with it by acting super wasted —vamps don't usually like the taste of alcohol in blood.

"And they saw someone stupid enough to ask a red-eyed menace to change her. The vampire smiled at her seductively like he was going to burn the world down just for her, and she was going to enjoy every second of it. And he bit her. She screamed because — as I'm sure you remember, it hurts in a way that no other pain compares — but then he started drinking. Sucking the venom out and preventing the change. It was at this point that my parents assumed he was just going to kill her. But he did it again. He bit her and sucked the venom out. He stopped just before killing her, and he let her go. A true gentleman, really. He even called her a cab.

"My parents followed her home to make sure she was alright. They went back to her place the next night and found her on her way to the vamp bar again. She was looking for another hit. I've seen other addicts throughout the years and it's eerie… it's like they're not really there, all they want is the bite." He picks up a smooth pebble from the sand between us, and passes it from one hand to the other.

"So, after my parents saw this, their obsession changed. They wanted to stop these _things_ from ruining people's lives. One night a man came up to them, a human, and he told them he'd been watching them, that he had noticed their interest in the vampiric world. My dad thought the guy was trying to sell them on the idea of becoming addicts, and he was about to knock the guy out when he told him, 'we want to train you to destroy them'."

The cold wind coming off the ocean makes me shiver. "So your dad agreed to become a… vampire hunter?"

"Oh no, my dad started thinking he wanted nothing to do with any of it." He smiles, "but my mom was in love with the idea… and my dad was in love with my mom. He would have done whatever she wanted. Including spend ten years of his life hunting vampires he'd rather just get away from. It would probably have been better if they'd just run off right then," he shakes his head. "But they started training with the Venandi, and they made a great team. They became legends — they killed more vampires than half of the entire Venandi put together."

"That's terrifying…and incredible," I say.

"Yeah." He tosses his pebble distractedly into the ocean as he speaks. "Unfortunately the vampires started hearing about them too, but they weren't exactly thrilled about the 'greatest vampire hunters in Canada'. It was years after my parents had started, so their reputation was pretty well established by that point. I had been born in the middle of all that chaos — there's even an ongoing joke that my mom went straight from a hunt to the delivery room.

"I was about six the first time I actually saw a vampire. My parents were good about leaving me with their friends or a babysitter whenever they went on a hunt. They kept that part of their lives away from me. Until they couldn't." He's not looking at me anymore. His eyes are aimed in the direction of the waves crashing to the shore. I don't dare say a word to interrupt his train of thought.

"The vampires were getting tired of losing so many of their mates — they tend to get pretty territorial. I was at home playing some stupid video game with my babysitter, Miranda, while my parents were out. They weren't even hunting for once — just on a regular date night. Miranda had ordered pizza, so she didn't think twice when the doorbell rang. I just remember this huge man coming through the door, and thinking, 'why doesn't he have pizza?' Two others came in behind him and Miranda started screaming and threatening to call the police. She didn't know any better. One of the other vampires killed her. It was quick…" Liam clears his throat.

"Then the big guy came right up to me, lifted me off the floor with one hand and said 'so this is the thing they hold most dear…' and he bit me." Liam's eyes flick back to mine for a second, reading my expression. I imagine I must look shocked. I didn't know anyone else who had been bitten and survived.

"Wha— what happened?" is all can say.

"He left right after the bite. He didn't want to feed on me, he wanted to change me — to make my parents see me as one of _them_. I didn't know that at the time of course, I was a child. All I knew was that I was in pain. But my mom had forgotten her jacket, so my parents came home early. They found Miranda's body and saw me writhing in pain and figured it out.

"My mom started sucking the venom out, like you would with a snake. The vamp probably never thought that would happen. Mostly because it's like torture. When vampire venom mixes with your blood, it changes you as it burns through your veins, but when it touches skin, it just burns like Hell. And my mom endured that, sucking it out and spitting it out on the rug until I stopped screaming."

I feel the drops hitting my hands before I realise I'm crying. Crying for the pain endured by a six-year-old child at the hands of a monster. I look up at him and he reaches out to wipe my tears. He moves in closer and wraps an arm around me.

"This is ridiculous," I blubber into his shoulder. "You shouldn't be the one comforting me. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Liam was quiet for a moment. And I let the silence carry on, because what could I really say?

"We moved to Forks after that." Liam finally speaks. "My parents started training me, teaching me to protect myself, and anyone else, from vampires. But vampire sightings were rare around here back then. My parents were pretty much forced into retirement by the circumstances — they didn't want to risk anything like that happening again."

"Can I ask you something?" I try to fight my curiosity but I'm failing miserably. His response is a simple nod. I rub my thumb over my own scar and ask, "where did he bite you?" Liam gives me questioning look and I add "sorry, I just— I haven't noticed a scar on you…"

"Of all the invasive questions you've asked me today, this one is pretty mild," Liam actually laughs. It's a beautiful sound after all the ugliness in his story.

Liam unzips his jacket and pulls up the hem of his t-shirt. His free hand traces the pale scar visible on his side, just over his ribcage. My curiosity gets the best of me once again and I reach my own hand out to touch his scar. I want to know how it compares to mine. My fingers make contact with it and, even though his torso is cold from the wind, the scar still manages to be a few degrees colder. I trace the pale curve and Liam shivers. I take my hand away so he can zip his jacket back up.

"Do you know what happened to the one that did that to you?" I ask.

He frowns. "The Venandi operate like a family. After we left Canada they hunted down all three vamps and ripped them apart. But I lived a pretty normal life in Forks between the ages of six and thirteen."

"Why did you leave Forks? You told me it was because of your dad's work but… that's not the whole truth is it?"

"No, not the whole truth," he says. "My mom was killed by another vampire. Not a planned attack or anything like what happened to me. It was just a case of wrong place, wrong time." His voice is low and gentle, like he's trying not to set me off again. "So Dad and I moved away again. I finally came back because I got tired of having to run away every time something bad happened. Forks was my happiest home for a while, and when my godfather said he'd be happy to host me, my decision was made."

"I'm sorry" I say again and we sit there in silence for what simultaneously feels like forever and like no time at all.


	5. The Guys

Why is my pillow moving? This is my first thought until I realise that it's too cold and bright — I'm definitely not in bed. I blink until my vision clears and the heaviness of my eyelids makes me realise how long it's been since I've had some solid, undisturbed sleep. Man, that was a good nap. The movement I had felt was Liam shifting positions — I had somehow fallen asleep on his shoulder as we spoke.

"Bella?" Jacob Black's voice is a surprise cutting through the cold. I squint my sleep-filled eyes in the direction of the voice. He's approaching us and I can't help but smile. Jumping to my feet, I wrap my around him in a friendly hug. I take a step back, hold him at arms length and look him up and down. I frown. "How are you still getting taller?" I ask. He's definitely grown since prom. "I think you need to go get your hormones checked out. Your growth spurt is lasting way too long," I tease.

"It's in the genes Bells, not my fault you're so _tiny,_" he rests his arm on my head to prove his point.

"Hey I'm perfectly average, not my fault _you're_ a freak," I echo his tone with a laugh.

It's then that I turn to Liam, "this is Jake, Jacob Black. We basically spent every summer together when I'd come visit my dad."

A smile stretches across his lips, "I didn't realise—" Liam says.

At the same time, Jake cuts him off, "_This_ is the friend you were meeting?"

I tilt my head to the side in confusion and they both laugh at me. This is weird, am I still asleep?

"You look like a cartoon character when you make that face," Liam comments, and then continues, "Jake's one of my best friends." He punches Jacob playfully on the arm. I didn't realise guys actually did that. It seemed like such stereotypical bro behaviour. My eyes turn to Jake as if I'm waiting for him to confirm this friendship.

"He's basically my new roommate," Jake laughs. "It's so cool you guys know each other."

Liam was living in La Push with Jacob? It feels like Forks just got even smaller. Knowing they are friends is strange, which is stupid because I have no claim on either of them. Only-child syndrome hits me as I wonder whether they're going to stroll off and hang out without me now. I shake my head to myself, I can't keep living in fear of being abandoned. Not everyone is like… _him_.

Jake's voice cuts through my cynical thoughts once again, "Why are you guys on the beach in this miserable weather?"

"Bella and I were sharing horror stories and this is her place of choice, apparently," Liam tells him. I feel the blush warming my cheeks when Jake looks at me.

"Oh, so I'm not the only guy you come to for scary stories?" He makes a face of faux betrayal and it pulls a laugh out of me.

"Jake's the friend you came here with before?" Liam cuts in. "This is too funny." And then a realisation dawns on him and he turns to Jake. "Dude, you told her to dump her ex?" He shakes his head. "Not cool."

Jake's blush rivals my own at this point and I smack Liam's arm to make him shut up about it. It was easier to tell him everything when I thought he didn't _know_ anyone.

"I told you," I mumble. "It wasn't his idea." I give Jake a friendly smile to ensure he knows I meant what I said at prom, I know they meant well.

"You know how my dad is," Jake says with an embarrassed shrug. "He believes all those legends."

"What does that have to—" Liam stops abruptly, eyes widening. His head whips around to face me. "You were dating a…"

"Cullen" Jacob finishes. "My dad needs to stop listening to the Quileute elders." He rolls his eyes.

The expression on Liam's face is murderous for a second but he flicks his eyes briefly to Jacob and relaxes. He looks at me and I know what he's thinking. _Jake doesn't need to know. _

I give an almost imperceptible nod to Liam so he knows I agree with him there. Jacob grew up hearing all these legends about vampires and if he doesn't believe them, there's no reason to drag him into it now.

"So, did you work on the car today?" Liam asks Jake, thankfully shifting the tone of the moment.

"Yeah! It's almost done. I can't wait," Jake responds. Then he shiftily looks over at me again and adds, "My dad came through on his promise."

The guys convince me to head back to the house with them — it doesn't take much convincing since I really don't want to sit at home waiting for Charlie — and it's nice just seeing them together. I was so used to Jake being the only kid since his older sisters moved out, but the way he acts with Liam is one hundred percent brotherly affection. I smile at them as they debate the best way to proceed with Jake's ongoing car repairs.

"Maybe Bella has some input," Liam says teasingly, as if he can sense that I know nothing about engines just because I lack a Y-chromosome.

"Nope, the only time I knew what was going on with a car was when I told Charlie the carburettor had water in it," I wait for one of them to take the bait.

"How did you know there was water there?" Jake asks.

"Because the car fell in the pool, so there was water in everything." They just look at me with blank expressions. Finally, Liam smacks his own forehead like they do in over-exaggerated cartoons and I crack up. "Come on, it's not that bad a joke!" I protest.

They laugh in unison and assert that it is, in fact, the worst joke ever. We spend the rest of the afternoon trying to out-lame each other with terrible jokes.

Several jokes in, Liam says, "What do you call a lost wolf?" Jake and I glance at each other and respond with a shrug.

"A where wolf." The response comes from a gruff voice in the doorway. We all turn to see Billy chuckling and shaking his head at Liam. "That's an awful joke, my boy."

An involuntary laugh escapes my throat and I realise Billy hadn't seen me until then. I suppose I'm easy to miss, half hidden behind two huge guys.

"Bella! It's so good to see you," he says. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"Aw I have to feed Charlie, but maybe another time."

"Oh I could call him. He knows he never needs a formal invitation anyway." Billy seems excited at the idea but I'm not too convinced we'd get through an entire dinner without Billy mentioning the Cullens leaving so 'suddenly'. I might still be a little bitter over the celebration the Quileute's had while I was crying my eyes out in my bedroom.

"Oh no it's alright. I'll come back plenty more," I say. Jake's smile grew wider at my words.

"Oh come on," Liam says and nudges me. "Stay for dinner, it'll give me something to do while Jake runs off with his friends." I hear the code in this: _we still need to talk_.

"Okay, dinner sounds great," I lie.

We're still sitting in Jacob's shed — well I'm sitting in the car with the door open while Jake sits on the floor and Liam leans against the wall — when another voice interrupts us.

"Jacob! You home?"

"In here!" Jake yells back at the voice.

Two dark-skinned guys around Jake's age walk in. "Liam, hey man," the shorter, more muscular one says. I recognise this as the same voice that had called out.

"Hey guys," Liam says. "This is Bella," he gestures towards me, pulling the car door open further so I'm not so hidden. "Bella this is Quil," he points to the guy with the voice, "and Embry," he waves his hand in the direction of the other guy.

"Hi," I say. "There must be something in the water over here at the Quileute reservation. He's almost as tall as you, Jake." I gesture towards Embry. He smiles shyly at me and mumbles a hello.

The other guy, Quil, is not nearly as meek. He steps towards me and shakes my hand. I swear he even flexes his bicep. "Nice to meet you," he winks.

"Jake, control your pet," Liam says, pulling Quil by the collar. The rest of the guys laugh while Quil scowls in embarrassment.

I let myself fade into the background while the guys engage in their own conversations. I remain quiet and observe their behaviour and it's like something out of a nature documentary. Quil and Embry look towards Jake like he's the leader. He's the one they ask about plans, and the ideas he shoots down get no further argument. It's not just Jacob's size that gives this impression, he carries himself with an air of confidence that I had never noticed before. You can tell they spend a lot of time together — there's a natural synchronisation in the way they move.

Liam is the puzzle piece that doesn't quite fit, the Quileute boys are all tan skinned with dark hair and deep brown eyes. And while Liam's L.A. tan makes me look like a ghost, he is still a lighter contrast to the boys from La Push. There's a difference in the way he carries himself. He doesn't fit the synchronicity of the other guys, but he's got a confidence all his own.

While watching their movements, I'm not paying close attention to their conversation, so it catches me by surprise when Liam and Jake simultaneously slap Quil upside the head.

"Jeez, I was kidding!" Quil rubs both sides of his head with a scowl while Embry laughs at him.

Jake steps closer to me and says, "The guys and I are going hunting for car parts before they close for the day. I'll be back in time for dinner." He smiles again, "I'm really glad you're joining us".

I smile and give Jake a hug, his warmth feels so familiar, despite the immense difference between this and the icy embraces I have become used to. "I'm happy to be here." I reply into his chest.

We return our gazes to the others. Quil is leaning against the wall waiting to leave, while Liam and Embry are in the middle of a conversation. Liam has a concerned look on his face and at one point he even puts his hand on Embry's head, the way you check for a fever. Embry shakes his head in response and shrugs. He's smiling and Liam seems to relax in response.

"And then there were two," Liam says as the other guys leave on their search for car parts.

"I still can't believe you know Jake," I tell him. "Is there anyone you don't know?"

"Well I don't personally know the Cullens…" he starts. "But their reputation precedes them." He narrows his eyes at me, and I really do not want to get into this.

I change the subject, "so what was Quil saying that got you and Jake to react like that?"

It doesn't work. Liam sighs quietly and shakes his head. "Bella," his eyes look sad now. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Maybe because I've only known you for five minutes, why would I tell you anything?" Anger courses out of me. Who does this guy think he is? The pity in his eyes reminds me of the way Charlie has been looking at me. It was good to be away from that, I can't handle receiving these looks from Liam now too.

The look of pity changes. He recoils as if I slapped him and I wait for him to spit out something equally mean, to tell me to leave and never speak to me again. But he doesn't do any of this. Instead he puts a hand on my shoulder, a gentle gesture.

"I just thought…" he shakes his head. "I just thought that we could talk about this stuff. I told you a lot about my history with vampires and you neglected to mention that you were _dating_ one." He says 'dating' as if it's the most vulgar word he's ever heard.

"Did he do this?" His voice is almost a whisper as he lifts my hand up and touches my scar. His teeth are gritted from the effort it's taking him to keep calm.

Appalled, I yank my hand back, "No you idiot!" I barely manage to contain the yell. We don't need Billy overhearing this. "You don't know what you're talking about. He would _never_ hurt me." I turn away so he doesn't see the tears forming in my eyes. This is so stupid.

I cross my arms in front of my chest and I feel like a child. His warm hand is on my shoulder again, and his voice is barely a whisper, "I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just asking. I need to know that you weren't… letting him feed on you."

"_What?_" There's no keeping the shock out of voice. He wasn't trying to be a jerk, he was just doing his stupid Venandi thing. "No, he never fed on me— I mean, not technically," I say with a smile.

Liam's eyebrows shoot up, more with curiosity than accusation this time. "Technically?" He asks.

"An evil vampire hunted me last year. He wanted to piss Edward off when he realised we were together. He bit me, and…" I flinch at the memory of Edward saving my life while I screamed out in pain on the dance studio floor. "… and Edward sucked the venom out. He could have killed me but he didn't. So whatever you think of vampires, the Cullens aren't like that. They don't drink human blood."

This garners a look of genuine surprise from Liam. "I'd heard of vamps like that but never actually met any. Wow," He says, and we fall back into silence.

"So seriously, what did Quil say?" I ask, more to change the topic than out of genuine curiosity. Liam smiles and winks at me, "I'll never tell." He says.

"You seem close to all of them. Especially Embry," I recall their earlier interaction.

A frown sets in on Liam's face again, "Yeah they're good kids. Billy pointed out that some of the guys here at the res have been coming down with something. I thought I saw a sign of it with Embry, so just keeping an eye out."

"So you act like everyone's big brother then, not just mine?" I tease.

"Yeah," his laugh comes out like a breath, "you could say that."

"I have to leave," Charlie says around a mouthful of fried fish. "Station called, there's been another animal attack." He stands up, and apologises to Billy as he returns to police chief mode.

"This is insane, those bears are getting out of hand," Jake says.

"Apparently it's wolves — huge ones. A witness confirmed it today" Charlie sighs and steps out.

I look at Jacob and see the concern on his face, all these deaths are concerning to all of us. I turn to thank Billy for dinner, I should get home. And I catch him and Liam sharing a look.

When Liam sees me looking he stands, "I'll walk Bella out," he says to Billy and Jacob. I nod, say goodnight and head to the door.

"So, I know I struck a nerve with you today, sorry about that," he says as we approach my truck. "My mind only goes in one direction when it comes to vampires… for obvious reasons." His hand moves to touch the spot on his ribs where his own scar is hidden, an unconscious movement. My eyes automatically follow his hand and I frown.

"It's okay, you haven't had the good experiences with them that I have," I tell him. "I get it, I'm not a fan of the red-eyes either." I give him a smile so he knows I'm sincere and I get in the car. I pull on the door to shut it, but he stops it from closing.

"I feel like I should make up for it though," he says with a cheeky smile. "I owe you a fun experience after today's intensity. You can pick what we do tomorrow." He gives me his phone number and closes my door.

I start the engine and Liam turns to walk away when an idea hits me. I roll my window down and call out, "hey, I know what we're doing tomorrow!"

He stops and turns to face me again, with a laugh of excitement. "Yeah…" he says expectantly.

"You're teaching me to ride your motorcycle." I wink and drive off, without giving him a chance to even consider saying no.


	6. The Woods

I wake up to a surprise in the morning — no nightmare last night. I feel well-rested for the first time in what feels like forever and it's terrifying. I had grown so used to waking up screaming that the absence of it felt heavy. At least my nightmares were a reminder that Edward was real. What if all my reminders of him start to fade? Surely a love like ours cannot just... disappear. But then I remember, his did. I swallow the lump that forms in my throat and reach for my phone to text Liam. I need to get out of this house.

_You up? _I text.

In a matter of minutes a reply comes through: _Yup_.

_What time is our lesson today? _I type. Please let him say soon, I cross my fingers and stare at the phone's screen until the text shows up.

_Later. _

Disappointment hits me like a truck. Not only is he being annoyingly curt, but now I need to find a way to keep myself occupied until he's free. And after my dreamless sleep I need a way to feel Edward's presence, even if it's just in my head.

I find Charlie in the kitchen, sipping on a cup of coffee. "That looks great." I point to his mug.

"There's plenty more," he reaches for the pot and pours me a cup with a smile.

I take a sip of liquid-heaven and my phone buzzes. I ignore it for a moment, I'll reply after my coffee. But the buzzing continues, and it takes me a moment to realise it's not a text. Liam is calling me. I realise how long it's been since I've made an actual phone call. It's easy to avoid when you don't really talk to anyone.

"Hello," I answer.

"Good mornin'" Liam's voice is still so thick with sleep that even the patchy phone signal can't mask it. "Sorry about earlier — my communication skills are a solid 2 out of 10 before coffee," he laughs. "I have to help Billy with something now but I'll be free around noon for our lesson." A pause, "you strike me as a klutz, judging from our first class together. So please don't fall off the bike today, I _really _don't want to explain to Chief Swan how I beheaded his daughter."

I laugh, "don't worry about me, I'm not that clumsy." I hear a laugh in response but it's not coming from the phone — Charlie is looking at me and shaking his head.

"Clumsiest damn kid I've ever met," he mutters.

I roll my eyes and say, "see you at noon" and hang up. I turn to Charlie, "Seriously?" I frown.

"It's true," he has the gall to still be laughing. "When you were five you tripped over nothing and split your lip open. Your mom wasn't even mad when I brought you home because she knew you couldn't breathe without hurting yourself."

"And the parents-of-the-year award goes to…" I mutter sarcastically.

"Aw, we didn't do too badly— got to you the age of eighteen at least. What are you doing today that warrants this denial?"

"Liam and I are going hiking," I say quickly. I had been thinking up excuses since I came up with the motorcycle plan. If I got hurt on the bike I could always tell Charlie I fell while wandering out in the forest.

"Since when are you the outdoorsy type?" He raises his eyebrows and stands to take his cup to the sink.

"Working at Newton's is rubbing off on me, I guess."

Charlie goes off to work and I'm alone again. My lie gets me thinking, maybe I should go for a walk through the woods. I haven't been out there since the night my world crashed down around me. If anything will make me feel a connection to Edward, it's finding his meadow. Plus, I need _something _to keep me occupied until I can go for my motorcycle ride.

The idea of wandering around in the woods on my own sounded too much like the start of a bad fairytale so I call someone who is likely to be up for anything.

"Jake, hi." I say into my phone, wincing slightly at the knowledge that I'm using him as a distraction. But this is what my life has become.

"Hey Bella, you alright?" The concern in his voice makes me wince again. I'm a jerk.

"Yeah of course. It was just great seeing you yesterday and it made me realise we haven't hung out much. I was wondering if you wanted to go on a hike this morning…" I let my voice trail off.

He laughs, "sure. I'll be at your place in twenty and we can go from there."

The smile on my face is so huge Jake can probably hear it as I tell him I'll see him soon.

I rush to Newton's to buy some hiking boots, which will hopefully reduce the chances of me actually slipping, and a map.

Thirty minutes later, Jacob and I are sitting at the dining room table, with Jacob drawing a grid on my newly-purchased map.

"So you have no idea where this place is?" He asks.

"I know where I started walking but I have no sense of direction, so getting lost is pretty easy."

"I'll give you some breadcrumbs this time, Gretel," he laughs and points to the grid. "So if we note where we go, we'll eventually find this meadow of yours."

This is almost as promising as the bike ride. The big smile on my face is wiped off when Jake interrupts my optimistic thoughts. "The woods are huge Bells, we probably won't find it today but at least we'll know where _not_ to go next time."

I nod, hiding my disappointment and pull him out the door and towards the trail.

We follow the trail for a while and I gesture to the side, I think that's where Edward had carried me. "I went this way," I tell him.

"Really? Off the trail?" Jake raises an eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm full of surprises," I tell him as we change direction. "How come you're not with your dad and Liam today?"

I suddenly feel guilty for bringing it up. Jake's expression darkens. "They said it doesn't involve me. What could involve Embry and Liam but not me?" He shrugs. "Sometimes I feel like my dad just relates more to Liam than to me. Like… like he trusts him more."

"Come on, your dad loves you, Jake. Maybe he just doesn't want to bother you. You said it involves Embry, how do you know that if your dad didn't tell you anything?"

"Embry started feeling sick last night — feverish — and my dad wouldn't let me go see him. But he dragged Liam out this morning and I know it was to go over there because they had been talking about him all week." He sees my face and guesses what my next question was going to be. "I don't know what they were saying, I'd just hear his name and then they'd go quiet whenever I walk into the room" his voice is bitter, eyes on the moss-covered floor.

"They're probably worried about you catching whatever he's got," I say, trying to make him feel better. "I know what it's like to feel like you're being left out of a discussion, or like everyone is deciding things for you. I'm sure they'll tell you what's going on."

He shrugs and steps forward along the path. We've been walking for a long time, and appear to be no closer to the meadow. I'm about to give up and tell Jake we should head back, when I hear a rustle from a few feet away. I'm instantly reminded of my dream from a few nights ago. Could it be…?

"Don't move," Jacob whispers as he steps closer, half shielding me. I look around him and see it. The black-furred wolf is so huge I can understand why people assumed it was a bear. Its movements are agile, despite its insane size. I hold my breath, scared that any sound will be enough to trigger an attack. We stand there frozen, watching as the wolf moves across the path.

It stops and for a moment it appears to be watching us. My hairs stand up on my neck as two others run to flank the black wolf, one brown with grey around its eyes almost like a mask, and the other grey all over. They're not as big as the first one, but they're still enormous. If they weren't so terrifying up close, they'd be beautiful.

I feel fear for Jacob in front of me, the wolves appear to focus on him for a few seconds. I'm preparing to pull him and run when the black wolf turns its eyes to the other two and the three of them run off deeper into the woods, leaving Jacob and I standing there with no idea what just happened.

I finally exhale and let out a nervous laugh, "we just saw the killer wolves and survived. I think we deserve a medal or something."

Jacob stays silent and I turn to look him in the eye. "Hey, are you okay?" He's shivering, a serious look on his face, still looking in the direction the wolves went. "Let's get out of here." I pull on his arm and he walks along with me. I expected him to be cold with all that shivering he's doing, he's burning up.

"I think you have a fever, you probably caught what Embry has after all," I say when we get back to my house. He hasn't stopped shivering and his fever has gotten worse. "I'm taking you to the hospital," I tell him.

"No." It's his first word since we saw the wolves in the forest. "Take me home," his eyes are pleading. I want to argue but when Billy sees him he will back me up and make Jake go see a doctor.

"Okay," I say and lead Jacob to the truck.

If I had thought that Billy would be on my side, I was sorely mistaken. As soon as Jake and I arrive, Liam half-carries Jake to his room and Billy says I should sit, and he leaves the room. A few moments later Liam is back in the Blacks' living room looking at me.

"What happened?" He asks.

I tell him about the hiking trip and that Jake had seemed perfectly fine one moment and then awful the next. "The fever came out of nowhere, I don't understand it," I say. Liam frowns when I mention the wolves. "We need to tell people to be careful, everyone thinks it's just one but we saw three of them. It's insane, Liam, they are huge."

Billy wheels back in, tucking his cellphone in to his shirt pocket. "Thanks for bringing him home Bella, we've got it from here." I stare back blankly.

"I could take him to the doctor," I say. "It's no trouble."

"He just needs to rest," Billy says, effectively shooing me out the door. He glances at Liam and I feel like a child being cut out of a conversation.

"It's okay, Bella and I had plans anyway," Liam jumps in before I have a chance to say something I'd regret to Billy.

"Okay, I'll just go say bye to Jake."

I turn towards the bedroom but Billy's voice is stern, "No Bella. He's probably contagious so it's best you just go."

A huff escapes my lips. _Contagious? _I was with him the entire morning. Surely if whatever he has is contagious there's no point in me being careful now. I don't bother arguing, no use stressing Billy out. I look down at him in his wheelchair and I finally notice how worn out he looks. I nod and walk towards the door with Liam trailing behind me.

My previous desire to let the issue rest there are extinguished in a matter of seconds when, as I walk out the door, I'm face-to-chest with a tall, muscular man. His black eyes appraise me for a second, and recognition hits me. Sam Uley.

"You carried me out of the forest," I tell him and it sounds like an accusation. His expression is solid ice, he clearly has no trouble placing me. Embarrassment colours my cheeks as I recall the state I was in when he saw me that night. I look past him to recover from my self-consciousness and my attention in drawn to the two figures behind him. One of them, I don't know but his expression seems fixedly angry, like he's worn it for so long his face got stuck that way. My eyes turn to the other guy, and I recognise him instantly — it's Embry. He definitely didn't look sick anymore.

While I would expect Embry to visit Jake, it seems odd that he's here with Sam Uley and Angry Guy, and that all three of them are walking around shirtless in the cold.

"Hello, Bella." Sam says. "Billy called to say Jacob isn't feeling well. We're here to see him and wish him a speedy recovery."

"Well he's apparently too sick for visitors," I tell him. If Billy didn't let me see Jake there's no reason to let these guys in.

"We _need_ to see him," Angry Guy says as he pushes past me . The move is so abrupt that I lose my footing. My face is an inch away from hitting the ground when Liam grabs me and pull me upright, his arm securely wrapped around me.

"Hey, cool it!" Liam says to him, still holding me protectively. He lets go but steps slightly in front of me, half-shielding me from Angry guy.

"Easy now, Paul." Sam's voice is so hard and stern you'd think he was talking to his son. "_Relax._"

Angry Guy — or Paul, apparently — exhales audibly and nods slightly. "I'm alright," he says to Sam. He turns to Liam, "sorry, man."

Liam grits his teeth and sighs. "I get it Paul, but I'm not the one you should be apologising to." Paul turns his eyes to me and smiles, suddenly he looks shy.

"Sorry," he says. "Anger management issues."

_Clearly,_ I think. I just shrug and look away. Billy points the guys in the direction of Jake's room and follows them in. I'm a few steps behind, hoping I'll get a chance to see him. But Billy shuts the door practically in my face. I'm considering kicking the door in anger but Liam rests his hand on my shoulder to guide me away and I settle for a grunting an exasperated "humph" instead. Why are they let in but not me? Is this some kind of no-girls-allowed thing? Because that's really juvenile and I expected better from Billy. He has two daughters and he wouldn't want them treated like this. Then it dawns on me — maybe Jake's sickness is… personal. I'm not exactly familiar with STDs but I vague memory from Health Class back in Phoenix tells me fever may be a symptom of chlamydia. Regardless, I'll be looking up the symptoms of chlamydia when I get home.

"Does Jake have a secret girlfriend?" I ask Liam as we walk back to the car. He cocks his head to the side in a manner that is so inexplicably _Liam_.

"No, Jake is too picky. He's waiting for the perfect girl to notice him." Liam says with a laugh. "Why? Jealous?"

"No!" I'm startled at where his assumption went. "No way, he's too young for me. And I'm not dating right now so _absolutely_ no." I shake my head and share my chlamydia theory.

The laugh that emanates from Liam borders on hysterical. There are actual tears in his eyes and it takes him a moment to catch his breath. I wait, a serious look on my face. STDs are no laughing matter — Mr Hedale, my old Health teacher, expressed the seriousness of them in a lesson involving a cucumber and twenty very uncomfortable fifteen-year-old students.

"Jake is _definitely_ not having sex," Liam says with conviction. I guess guys probably would brag about that kind of thing so he's probably right. "It's probably just a virus that's going around. Sam and the guys have been trying to see why so many people around the Res are getting sick."

"For people who are so concerned with the spread of illness, they're not exactly dressed up warm," I say with a laugh remembering the sight of the three shirtless guys in Billy's living room. This sends Liam and I into another frenzy of giggles as we drive off to a clearing — finally — for my lesson.


	7. Lessons

The air around me is electrifying. I squint as my hair is blown in to a frenzy by wild wind against the motorcycle. The blood in my veins is singing with so much joy I can't even be bothered to care about the mess that my hair is becoming. I peek a glance over my shoulder at Liam, a decent distance behind me and I turn to race back towards him. We've been out here for hours and I'm finally getting the hang of this thing!

"Easy Bells," he says, as the bike stops with a jerk.

I frown. "It stalled." I step off and point at the bike accusingly.

Liam lets a soft laugh escape as he explains — again — how to handle the clutch when I slow down to avoid stalling. I nod as I comb my fingers through my hair, trying to remedy the situation. Liam pulls something out of his pocket and hands it to me. I peer at his open hand, a light blue hair tie rests in his palm.

"I thought you might need this," he says with a chuckle. I've never met anyone who laughs as much as he does.

Accepting the offer, I eye his short hair and ask "why do you have a hair tie and why didn't you give this to me _before _the wind ruined my hair?"

"I forgot until you had already started moving pretty well and, honestly, I enjoy watching you struggle." His eyes light up with his teasing smile. It's maddening.

I roll my eyes dramatically and attempt to hop back on the bike to go for another ride. I say 'attempt' because, being me, my foot slips and as I fall forward my head slams against the hard metal body of the bike. White-hot pain shoots through my head as I reflexively press my hand against the injury. I turn to sit on the ground with my eyes squeezed shut as I wait for the initial jolt of pain to subside.

"Crap," Liam exclaimed and in a second he's on his knees pulling my hand away from my face.

I feel the stickiness on my hand and realise I'm bleeding. I take a small peak and my crimson palm confirms it. I try to press my hand back against my head but Liam's grip doesn't let me make contact.

"Bella, your hands is filthy, don't touch the cut — you could get an infection." He tuts and shakes his head at me and pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket. Seriously, a handkerchief. I giggle to myself as he reaches for his water bottle, wets the hanky and presses it to the gash in my head. It stings a little but I just giggle more.

He eyes me questioningly and in-between giggles I tell him, "you have a hanky! Hee-hee. My grandpa used to carry hankies." I rest the uninjured side of my head on his shoulder while he continues to clean my head up. My eyes drift shut.

He sighs and shrugs his shoulder slightly, bobbing my head. "No, Bella. Don't sleep, you might be concussed."

"I get hurt a lot," I tell him. "I'm a pro at it really, I'm definitely not concussed."

"So you're just a naturally giggly person?" He raises an eyebrow sceptically.

"Your _hanky_ would make anyone giggly," I retort.

He says nothing in response, just tuts again quietly and continues cleaning my banged-up head.

"It's clean," he says after a moment. "But it's still bleeding. We'll go back to Billy's and I'll bandage you up."

"I'm sorry," I tell him, reaching to hide the wound again. Once again my attempt fails as he pushes my dirty hand away. I pout.

He looks at me quizzically, "you know you've spent too much time around bloodsuckers when you feel the need to apologise for bleeding."

"Well the last time I bled in front of one didn't end very well," I mutter. Edward's ability to hear Jasper's thoughts before he attacked is probably what saved me, and what saved Jasper from doing something he'd regret.

"How are you still alive?" Liam's eyes flick to mine. "I swear, you're part danger-magnet, part teenager."

"Luck," I say, because it's true. "Edward knew the attack was coming before it happened."

Liam's hands still as his expression shifts from a look of concern to pensive. "How?"

This is the moment when I realise I've never told anyone about Edwards ability. No one knows what the Cullens really are — and they'd be more likely to institutionalise me than to believe that my vampire ex-boyfriend was a mindreader. But Liam knows. He's the only person I can talk to about all the insane things that have happened over the last year, and it feels like burden being lifted. For the first time, I talk about my birthday, and about Alice and Carlisle and the people I had come to love. I don't notice the tear that falls until I feel Liam wipe it away.

He's quiet for a while. He opens his mouth to say something, but seems to catch himself and returns to silence. He eventually says, "I have follow-up questions." He pauses for a beat before continuing, "but I don't want to make you cry. So if you don't want to talk about him and his family then I'll shut up."

I blush, wanting to deny the fall of that frustrating tear he witnessed. But something dawns on me. For the first time in a very long time, I wasn't crying over Edward. I was crying over Alice and Esme, Carlisle and Emmett, over the fact that I never got a chance to see if Rosalie would ever warm up to me. So I tell Liam the truth.

"No, no." I tell him. "You can ask. It's not about him. He made his choice, he just didn't give me one. Alice was my best friend," I shrug. "He took her away too."

Liam nods and slips an arm around my shoulders as he sighs.

"You said Alice is psychic, right?" He says and waits for my response. I nod with a laugh. He says psychic the way someone would say wizard or magical fairy. "So why didn't she know her boyfriend was going to kill you?"

I explain that Alice's visions don't really work that way and his face drops. I lose myself in another fit of giggles. "You look as if I just told you Santa doesn't exist!" I tell him teasingly.

"Shut up. I like magic," he says with a pout.

The late afternoon sun shines on us and I'm reminded again of how much I dislike the rain. I'm half hidden by shade while Liam is practically sunbathing. I poke his side and gesture for him to move over and he turns his gaze sleepily to me. I wish I had a camera at that moment. His movement has left his face half-covered in shadow. The side being caressed by sunlight is lit up with one of his emerald eyes brighter than I'd ever seen it. The eye encased in shadow, by comparison, looks almost as dark as mine. The truly breathtaking part of this image is his skin. Both the shadowed and sun-kissed sides of his face are flawless. In the sun he looks golden and perfect, and in the shade he looks mysterious and equally beautiful. As if of its own volition, my hand reaches up and strokes his face, once on either side, wanting to feel the difference.

Liam looks at me, not for the first time, like I'm a crazy person. Ironic that he looks at me like that _not_ after I've told him about psychics and mind-readers, but after I touch his face.

"You're really handsome," I tell him matter-of-factly.

He cocks his head to the side and says with a smile, "I definitely think you have a concussion."

"No," I shake my head in protest — surely he knows what he looks like! I'm about to tell him this when a wave of nausea rolls over me, most likely due to the insistent head shaking. I turn to the side, push his arm off me and rush a few feet away to throw up in a bush.

In a matter of seconds, Liam is next to me. Without hesitation or any sign of disgust, he grabs his blue hair tie from my wrist and ties my hair back in what is probably the worst ponytail ever — but I'm in no position to complain. He hands me his half blood-soaked hankie and bottle of water.

I finish vomiting, wipe my mouth and rinse off with the water before I turn to him and say, "I think I have a concussion."

I'm in the passenger's seat, watching through the mirrors as Liam loads his bike onto the back of my truck. His muscles strain as he lifts the heavy machine. He's not scarily muscular, but he wouldn't look out of place on a football field. He'd probably put some of the guys on the Forks High School team to shame. Venandi training must be intense.

It's then, as I watch Liam latch the back of the truck shut, that I notice the ghostly figure in the distance. Liam calls my name when he notices my door opening. He wipes a hand across his sweaty forehead as he peers in my direction. I point over his shoulder at the figure, walking slowly away from us.

"A junkie," Liam swears. "If he's wandering around here, there's a vamp nearby." He rushes and towards the junkie and shouts without turning to look at me, "wait in the car!"

My heart races as I watch Liam approach the junkie. He takes in the glazed expression and nods as if signalling a confirmation to me. _He's definitely a junkie._ He runs off into the woods, leaving the drunk-looking human wandering a few feet behind him.

I'm stunned, observing how the junkie moves almost like a toddler. His blonde head turns from side to side like he's watching the birds in the trees. He's still, until a manic growl comes from the direction Liam went. I guess he found the vampire. I freeze, waiting for more sound or for Liam to emerge victorious. But there's nothing, the junkie stands frozen as well, until another predatory growl screeches from the woods. At that the junkie seems to have found life— he takes off running towards the noise and I panic. Before I know it, I'm running after him.

When I see them, I duck behind a tree. Liam is facing off with a tall and dark-haired vampire. For a moment he reminds me of Emmett, until he growls viciously again and he's lost any resemblance to anything remotely human. A glint of light draws my attention to Liam's hand. He's holding some kind of dagger. Where the Hell did that come from? I hold my breath as I spot the junkie, standing a few feet away — watching, just like like I am. But I don't think we're supporting the same side.

Liam's voice echoes through the woods and I catch his words, "what? Don't want a taste?" He turns his head exposing his neck to the vampire. What is he doing? I grab onto a branch to stop my trembling hands.

"Stupid human," the vampire says in a gruff voice. "Your death will be painful."

"Come on big boy, stop shrieking and come have a taste" the smirk on Liam's face is audible. He's goading the vampire. Once again, I question his sanity.

A rough growl escapes the vampire's snarling mouth and Liam falters — he takes a step back, eyes wide as he falls to the ground lying on his back. In half a second the vampire is on top of him, shrieking with joy this time.

I let out a terrified yell of "_no_" as my eyes brim with tears. My voice breaks at the end of the word as my throat constricts. It reverberates through the forest and the vampire turns its head to look at me with a malevolent grin.

"Ah yes, you'll be n–" his sentence is cut off as Liam flips with a grown and holds the vampire down, his forearm pressing it's neck into the ground.

Before I have time to process this turn of events, Liam has sliced the vampire's head off. I breathe a sigh of relief and run towards him while he pulls out a lighter and starts burning scraps of wood and leaves. He throws the head into the little flames and we stand together watching the flames engulf what's left of him.

Our brief moment of peace is interrupted by inhuman sobs. In my fear for Liam, I had completely forgotten the junkie. He has tears streaming down his face and his entire body is trembling — with grief or withdrawal, I don't know. I take a cautious step towards him. I don't know whether to comfort him or run in the opposite direction. I feel sorry for him. The truly scary part is the look I see on his face is one I had seen a lot a few months ago. Is this how people saw me while I was grieving my relationship with Edward? I shudder at the thought but there's no denying the resemblance. Never again, I promise myself. Never again will I be left broken like… like a junkie.

"You killed him!" The junkie screams as he rushes for Liam in a sudden burst of anger, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. In a swift motion Liam detaches his hands and pushes him several feet away as though the junkie was merely a child play-fighting. He falls to the ground and Liam's face is a combination of disgust and pity.

"I'm not going to fight you, dude," Liam tells him.

He growls in response, stands and pulls a knife out of his pocket. Why does everyone have a damn blade today, I wonder. My eyes automatically turn to the ground near the fire where Liam had left his dagger. _Damn. _

The guy eyes Liam with hatred, slowly stepping towards him. When he's right in front of me, my instincts, and possibly all those self-defence lessons with Charlie, take over and I pull my arm back and throw all my strength into one solid punch to the junkie's jaw.

Two sounds come at the same time. One is the thud of the guy falling to the hard ground, and the other is Liam's voice exclaiming, "holy crap, Bella!"

My fist throbs slightly so I shake it like they do in the movies — it doesn't really help but Liam shoots me a look of concern. I shrug him off and step towards the passed-out man on the floor.

"You knocked him out cold!" If I didn't know any better, I'd say Liam sounds impressed. He laughs. "Remind me not to mess with you anymore."

"Perks of having a dad who's a cop," I tell him. "Charlie started teaching me self-defence after we went out one night and this college guy kept hitting on me — in _front_ of my dad."

I laugh at the memory of Charlie's rage when he told the guy that he's a cop and could arrest him then and there for trying to seduce a minor. I was only fourteen at the time. I've never seen anyone lose their confidence that quickly. He stammered an apology and bolted, dragging his friends off the premises. Now, Liam laughs as I tell him the story.

"What do we do with him?" I ask, digging the tip of my shoe into the unconscious junkie's side, just to make sure he's really out of it.

"I'll call the Venandi. They'll get him cleaned up."

Thirty minutes later, Liam is helping one of the Venandi guys haul the still-out-cold junkie into an inconspicuous Ford with tinted windows. I peek in the back seat as they set him down and notice the rope fitted into the seats.

"You're tying him up?" I ask

"Yeah, got to." The Venandi who introduced himself as Elias says. "Don't want him attacking me while I drive if he wakes up."

I nod. He would probably wake up soon.

"How come he's been out so long?" I pause. "Is he badly hurt?" A feeling of guilt rises in my chest.

"Don't think so," Elias answers me while Liam finishes securing the junkie in the back. "Housley must have gotten a good shot in but junkies are already weak from prolonged exposure to venom." He shrugs. "Besides, he's got a lot more pain heading his way than a potential broken jaw."

Liam says, "I didn't hit him" at the same time that I ask "what do you mean _more_ _pain_?"

Elias is too taken aback by Liam's statement to answer my question. "You didnt?"

Liam shakes his head and points at me. "All her."

Elias' eyebrows shoot up and he faces me. "You punched a junkie? Nice."

"You weren't impressed when you thought Liam did it."

"Liam's been trained to deal with vampires so a junkie is nothing to him. But a tiny girl like you…" He sizes me up. "Impressive." He grins and turns to Liam.

"She might have what it takes," Elias says to Liam.

"El, no way." Liam's tone is serious.

"Lee, our ranks are falling." Elias tells Liam. "Cole heard word about newborns. We need the numbers."

"Not her," his jaw is set. Stubborn.

"Will you stop talking as if I'm not here." I tell them. It's so frustrating feeling like their part of some boys' club I'm not included in. Though I suppose in some way that is the case. "What are you going to do to him?" I gesture towards the back of the Ford.

Liam looks at me and there is genuine sadness in his eyes. "They're going to lock him up somewhere safe. Where he can't go seeking more venom," he says. "He has to go through withdrawal until his body no longer craves it. The withdrawal hurts worse than the venom itself." He looks at Elias as if asking for permission to continue, and when Elias nods he adds, "most people don't survive it." He turns his glance pityingly at the junkie again.

As if on cue, the junkie starts groaning and Elias says, "right, this is where I leave you guys. Got an addict to clean up." He winks at me, shuts the backseat door — hiding the junkie from view — and hops in the driver's seat with his window down. The engine roars to a start and this sets the junkie groaning loudly again. "Oh shut up," Elias tells him, and with that, he drives off. Leaving Liam and I standing in the clearing with nothing but the remnants of the fire as a clue that anything bizarre happened here today.

"He seems… nice." I say when the car is out of view. I turn to finally face Liam directly. I hadn't had a proper look at him since that terrifying moment when I thought he was a goner. His forearm is bruised from when he held the vampire down and his clothes are a mess, but he's alive. I throw my arms around him in a tight hug and it's not until his warm arms wrap around me that I realise how cold I'd been feeling. He lets me pull his bruised arm away so I can have proper look at it. My eyebrows furrow as I take in its deep purple colour.

"Hey," he says as he lifts my chin so he can lock eyes with me. "I'm used to this. I'm okay." He smiles softly.

"You don't get to say that after the heart attack you gave me! You fell when he growled! Doesn't your training teach you how to stay on your feet?" My concern has dissipated into anger now that I know he's okay. I smack him on the chest for good measure.

His eyes widen in surprise and the jerk bursts into laughter. Fuming, I take a step away from him, but he pulls me back gently and wraps me back into a hug. His chin rests on the top of my head when he says, "I faked it, Bella. It needed to think I was scared so that it wouldn't anticipate my attack." He pulls back a bit so he can see my face. "I didn't know you were watching. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Fine," I say, letting him off the hook.

"But while we're talking about heart attacks," he says with an eyebrow raise. "Imagine my surprise when you showed up in the middle of a vamp attack."

"At least the distraction gave you chance to get him" I say.

Liam sighs. "I don't need a sidekick, Bella."

"From what Elias was saying earlier, it seems you need more than just a sidekick. So why don't you train me?"

"You need more than a good right hook. Charlie will kill me if he finds out I'm putting you in danger." Liam is clearly grasping at strings to convince me against it but my mind is made up. I know what I want.

"I've kept secrets from Charlie before, what's one more?" I grin, sensing the victory.

"And let's face it, I'm a danger magnet. So what's the worst case scenario? You train me and if I'm not good enough then I won't be able to join the Venandi anyway. But at least I'll be able to defend myself." He seems uncertain but we both know he can't argue.

"Let's go to Billy's." He says with a reluctant sigh. "I still need to bandage you up. We'll talk about it when you're no longer concussed."


	8. Maria the Mad

My concussion wears off and Liam realises I'm right — it's more dangerous for me _not _to know how to defend myself than it is for him to train me. Feeling victorious, I meet him back in the forest — our clearing where he had taught me to ride. It's an open enough space that we have loads of room, but also far enough away that we're not likely to get caught.

"The last thing I need is for someone to run into us and think I'm beating up a girl," Liam had said when we discussed locations. Now, we stand in the clearing and I stand on-guard waiting for Liam to make a move. He cocks his head to the side in that annoying way of his and my hands drop to my sides.

"No fighting?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "Not yet. This is like learning to drive a car. You have to get the theory down first."

"I failed the theory exam twice," I complain. "Can't we skip that part and get straight to the punching?"

He smirks at my disappointed look and says a simple, "nope."

I pause and stare waiting for him to add something — anything — to clarify. He grins as he waits, not breaking the silence either. I make no move to step away but I cross my arms waiting for him to start his stupid theory lesson.

"You're going to be stuck with sucker-punches until you learn the rules and regulations of vampire slaughter," Liam says, suddenly serious.

"Is there a book for this too?" I mutter sarcastically.

A massive grin spreads over Liam's face in response to my question as if he'd been waiting for me to say just that. He reaches into his backpack and pulls out an enormous hardback book. It resembles an oversized encyclopaedia that overly-studious people tend to collect like prizes. The cover is matte black with silver swirls all over it that I can't quite distinguish from where I'm standing. As he turns the pages I notice that they are so thin that they're almost translucent. Bible pages are steel in comparison and I'm amazed the pages don't simply disintegrate with Liam's touch.

"This," he says, "is the Venandictionary." He grins. "It holds everything there is to know about killing vamps."

"_Venandictionary_?" I repeat, incredulous. "That is ridiculous."

"It's not really called that," he rolls his eyes. A habit of mine he seems to either be mocking, or developing. Most likely mocking. "It's very boringly referred to as '_The Guide',_" he puts air quotes around the words and holds that ceaseless grin. "I just thought Venandictionary sounded better." He acknowledges my look of distaste and frowns in feigned disappointment.

"Vencylopaedia has a better ring to it," I say, matter-of-factly.

"Venanswers to your vampire problems," Liam chuckles.

"You're really bad at these." I laugh. "Now gimme!" I reach out to grab it out of his hand and I'm immediately shocked at how heavy it is.

I sit cross-legged on the ground and open it to the first page when Liam settles down next to me.

"The first of the Venandi was established in 1816 after the death of Dona Maria the First, Queen of Portugal," I read aloud. "Alexandre Costa was the first recorded human to have killed a vampire after locating the one that killed Dona Maria." My eyes widen as I left them off the page and turn towards Liam. "You're telling me the Queen of Portugal was killed by a vampire and no-one knows about it?"

"I knew you'd enjoy this type of studying," he smiles and uncrosses his legs, stretching them out in front of him. "Maria wasn't killed by a vampire in the typical way we would all assume," he pauses, as if for dramatic effect, and it works. He takes _The Guide_ and places it between us as he reads the next section.

"After her husband, the King, died, she was declared mentally ill. Alexandre Costa was her personal guard as well as a close friend of the royal family. He had known the Queen since she was child and asserted that this insanity could not have come unprovoked. He swore that the Maria he knew should have been strong enough to handle the loss of her husband. So, he made it his mission to figure out what was going on. Dona Maria refused to leave her home during the day — due to her grief, they all said — so Costa stationed himself outside of the castle every evening.

"He kept guard for three nights before he finally saw her. To his horror, he saw his precious Maria climbing out of her bedroom window at 1:25 in the morning. She fell so hard and fast that he barely held in a gasp. He paused just long enough to watch her get back up before he had the chance to blow his cover by helping her. Impossibly, she seemed unharmed. He kept to the shadows following her through the city until she arrived to a bar—"

"—She was sneaking off to a bar?" I interrupt. "Surely the _Queen_ could have a drink in her own castle without having to sneak out in the middle of the night."

"Patience, grasshopper" Liam says, amused at my enthusiasm, and he continues.

"So, Costa snuck around the building and went in through a window to see what she was doing, without himself being seen. Once inside, he spotted Maria rushing towards an _impossibly_ _handsome_ man." He rolls his eyes at the description.

"While the man appeared significantly younger than Maria, Costa figured he was a lover she had taken and that she was meeting him at an odd hour to keep it out of public knowledge — it was unheard of at the time for a lady of her standing to be off galavanting with young men at night." Liam laughs. "That was probably more of a scandal to them than the existence of vampires."

At this point I realise Liam is no longer reading. He's looking into the clearing and speaking from memory. How many times must he have heard this story?

"Anyway, Costa was happy to keep quiet about the affair out of respect to his friend, but then he saw something odd. He heard Maria ask the man to bite her — beg him, actually. Costa had heard rumours about the blood drinkers that hunted at night but he'd never seen one, let alone watched one feed. But there he stood, frozen, watching his friend's pained face turn hazy and calm. He knew he wouldn't be able to drag her out of there without causing a scene that would probably end in both of them being killed. So he went home.  
"He confronted her the next day — told her everything he'd seen — and she said nothing. She refused to answer any of his questions and from then on became even more of a recluse, refusing to leave her room. They kept guards in her bedroom with her so she couldn't sneak out anymore. Visitors to the castle commented that hey would hear her screaming throughout the day and night for no apparent reason."

I watch Liam's face as he recites the story as though he's told it a hundred times before, his face so calm you wouldn't think he was delivering a tale full of tragedy.

"That's awful," I cry. "Why didn't anyone help her?"

"No one knew the effects of vampire venom withdrawal at that time. Hell, they barely knew anything about vampires. So she just screamed and suffered through the withdrawal. Only Costa and a few close members of the Portuguese court knew what was really going on with the Queen. Most people just believed she was insane. In Brazil she was known as _Maria the Mad_. Her doctor wanted to take her to England to treat her insanity but the court wouldn't allow it since they knew there was nothing regular medicine could fo for her. Eventually the withdrawal killed her.

Costa was wrecked after her death. He told Maria's son that he would avenge his mother's death and tracked down the vampire he had seen feeding on her. After he killed him, Costa returned to the Prince and said it was done. He brought with him the vampire's finger as evidence. The court was amazed to see something that looked so human but was as hard as stone and cold as ice. The Prince insisted that Costa was to train the Portuguese soldiers to fight this new-found enemy. That's when the Venandi was founded. The Prince had the finger made into a necklace which was passed on from generation to generation of Costas until it was eventually lost, the story dying with whoever was the last to hold it."

I'm in awe. I have so many thoughts but no idea how to put them into words. Instead I turn to Liam and say, "That's kind of morbid, wearing a dead finger. Is the theory part of our day done now or do you have other stories to make me depressed?"

Liam smiles. "No more sadness, I promise. Plus, I'm bored of the history lesson. Let's fight."

It takes about five minutes of sparring for me to realise that I'm not very good. I step away from Liam to dodge a punch and fall flat, landing on my butt. Liam's laughter is not very encouraging. I scowl.

"You're a bad teacher," I whine, knowing very well how childish I must sound but I can't help it. I'm disappointed in myself.

"You'll get there," Liam says with a chuckle. "Don't blame me for your clumsiness and I'll try to teach you to stay on your feet." He grabs my hands and pulls me back up to my starting position.

"Are you much of a dancer? Fighting vampires is kind of like learning choreography — violent choreography but choreography nonetheless."

"I'm a terrible dancer," I tell him. "I did ballet when I was eight and I was always in the back for recitals," I admit, shaking my head, accepting that I will probably never be able to get near a vampire without falling down, let alone fight one.

"Bella," Liam's voice sounds hard. He's not being gentle with me in his usual way, he sounds like a real coach. "You wanted to learn to protect yourself right? Rule number one: no wallowing. When something goes wrong, you just keep going. You need to treat this like you're in real danger. A vamp won't pick you up when you fall."

I place my feet in the starting position he'd shown me earlier and nod. "Come at me," I say with a determined smile.

Fighting is better than motorcycles, I decide after a few days of training with Liam. The rush of dodging his hits and the pure joy of landing a punch to his chest are incredible. Every day after school, we do homework for an hour at my place and then trek to the woods to train — or more accurately — for Liam to kick my butt every time.

Frustration washes over me when he's pinned me down for the tenth time today and I let out a long sigh as I get back up to my feet.

"You're getting better," Liam says with a smile when he sees that I'm back in my fighting stance.

I roll my eyes. "You've still beaten me every time."

"Yeah, but I'm actually _trying_ to beat you now." He winks. "That's an improvement."

"Oh shut up." I complain.

"I'm serious," he chuckles and pulls my arm so that I step closer to him and am no longer braced for combat. "In fact…" he starts, and reaches for something in his backpack. "I think you're ready to learn about this now."

His hand digs into his worn-looking backpack and he retrieves a knife. It's long and thin, almost the length of a machete but something about it is strange. I take a step closer, reach out and Liam places it in my hand.

"It's not metal!" I exclaim in surprise. The knife's blade is not a shiny silver like one would expect. It's a pale white colour with tiny flecks of pale brown. It almost looks like a bone apart from the fact that it's ridiculously sharp. I hold it up to the light and Liam takes it back in one swift motion.

"What you need to know," he starts, "is that there are only three things on earth that can pierce a vampire. One of those things is another vampire, and the second is this." He gestures at the knife.

"What's the third?" I ask when he doesn't continue.

"Stick with the training and maybe you'll find out." Liam winks obnoxiously.

My body aches everywhere. My chronic clumsiness had stopped me from doing pretty much any physical activity for most of my life so I was entirely unprepared for the muscle aches that come with the intense training Liam and I have been doing.  
I'm at the kitchen table waiting for him to come over for our Saturday training session when Charlie walks in.

"Hey, Bells," Charlie's voice masks a smile as he watches me glancing out the window. "Waiting on Liam?"

"Yeah, he said he's on his way."

"I thought you would've just gone to pick him up and see Jake as well. Two Birds, one stone, you know." Charlie pours himself a cup of coffee and offers the jug to me.

I take it and am hit with overwhelming guilt. My days have been so occupied by thoughts of training and Venandi that I'd forgotten poor Jacob was sick. Not that the _guys_ had been exactly welcoming the last time I'd tried to see him. But I owe it to Jacob to at least see how he's doing.

I hear Liam's motorbike stop outside a few seconds before struts into the kitchen. Eyes still looking half-asleep, he reaches for the coffeepot I left on the table.

"Ah… yes, it's still hot," he gives me a wink as he helps himself and throws himself down onto the chair.

"How's Jacob doing?" I ask after Liam is sufficiently caffeinated. He smiles.

"Jake's great. Good as new — better really."

"Oh…" I say. I had assumed that Jacob would get in touch once he recovered. I guess he decided to leave me too, I think as I try to shrug off the disappointment.

"He's been busy," Liam says, immediately picking up on my tone. "Running around with Sam sort of takes a lot out of him."

"He still could have called," I hate myself for the break in my voice as I speak.

"We'll go see him after training, okay?" Liam says softly. "Don't forget we've been busy too."

"Alright. Let's start," I say "I'm in the mood to kick your butt today." I stand up and we head to my car.

Forty minutes later, I'm dripping in sweat and exhausted, but pleased to see that Liam is no less worn out. I'm getting better I think with a grin to myself. Liam tenses to spring towards me. I notice it with enough time to feint aside and turn the attack back on him, knocking him to the ground, my weight pinning him down the way he taught me earlier this week.

"That was awesome," Liam says, looking up at me with a grin to match my own. I recognise the gleam in his eye, which ignites my fury.

"You let me win!" I accuse with a scowl.

He has the decency to look guilty for just a second. But two seconds later the teasing smile returns. "Hmmm… Maybe."

He glances to his arms which I still have pinned to the ground, and I realise I'm still practically straddling him. A blush begins creeping up my neck and across my cheeks when in a swift motion he flips over so that in the amount of time it takes me to blink he's now the one pinning _me_ down.

"Dang it!" I say, the blush fading with the surprise of the movement. I would slam my fist to the ground if Liam's arm wasn't holding it firmly to the ground above my head. I take a deep breath, trying to pull my focus away from the feeling of his entire body pressed against mine. This might be worse than the straddling.

"No fair," I mumble, trying to break free, hoping he'll see my red face as a sign of exhaustion.

"I've had more training," he says getting off me and helping me up. "But you're doing insanely well, Bella." He looks at me and it feels like I'm being scanned from head to toe. "I think we should stop for today."

"No. I'm fine," I lie, but my trembling legs give me away. He raises an eyebrow and doesn't dignify me with a response. I huff, but finally let myself sink back to the floor.

"How about we find that meadow of yours?" Liam asks after we've caught our breath.

I had told him what Jake and I had been up to the day we'd seen the wolves. By now I had probably told Liam more about my life than I'd ever revealed to anyone.

The most surprising thing is I hadn't thought about the meadow in what felt like ages. I hadn't thought about anything other than the manoeuvres I'd been learning, and trying to keep up with school work.

I pull out the grid Jake had drawn and examined the path Jake had crossed out. No meadow there. After showing it to Liam, we pick a path and make our way down it finding absolutely nothing. When I realise we'd been walking for entirely too long to possibly be on the right track, I suggest another route.

We carry on like this for about an hour until I see it — a low arch formed by two vine maples, leading into clearing in the shape of a perfect circle.

"We found it," I breathe.


	9. In The Meadow

My legs shake as I step into the meadow I had only seen in dreams over the last few months. Liam follows a few steps behind, so quietly that I can hear quiet bubbling of the stream in the distance. I shift my gaze across the clearing, searching for something. All I see is tall grass billowing in the breeze and I feel an odd emptiness creeping through the wind.

Liam clears his throat after a moment of silence. "This… ahem, this place is beautiful."

"Yeah," I sigh. "It feels… different."

I turn to face Liam. He's rubbing his neck and watching my expression intently. This is the first time I've seen him look quite so… awkward. I cock my head to the side inquisitively, mirroring the expression he so often uses when he's trying to figure out my thoughts.

"You okay?" I ask.

"I should be asking you that question," he answers softly. He shuffles from foot to foot and seems to questions whether or not to carry on with whatever it is he's trying to say.

"It feels like I'm intruding on a personal place." he says finally. "When my mum was alive she used to paint. Gorgeous paintings of landscapes and portraits of the people she loved. One time she even painted George Clooney just to make fun of my dad. We had a room in our old house here in Forks that became her studio. When she wasn't training or mothering, you'd always know to find her in her studio. I used to go in there with a book sometimes. I'd sit on an old couch she had in there and just keep her company while she painted for hours. She would lose herself in her art. It was honestly her healthier obsession.

"I slept on that beat-up old couch for over a month after she died, and then we moved away." His eyes are filled with sadness as he looks up at the sky, I suspect to avoid making eye contact with me. "When I got back to Forks this year, I went to our old house. The family living there are lovely and when I introduced myself they invited me in and after a cup of tea and come small talk I worked up the courage to ask about the studio." He sighed.

"They turned it into a nursery. I hated seeing it so different. It was like they took this place that was so personal to my mother and _changed_ it into something so far away from what it used to be. I can't blame them of course, but it just felt wrong somehow, like another confirmation that my mother is gone." His eyes almost light up as he talks about his mother. I think of Renée, and feel a familiar hollow pain in my chest but this time I'm missing my mother. I make a mental note to call her later.

"So that ramble was just to say… I know you must have a lot of memories with your ex here and it must suck seeing this place without him here. And I know I can't take that away or make it easier for you, but I want you to know that I get how that feels and I'm here no matter what you need."

"You already have made it easier just by being here." I tell him honestly. "You know, up until I met you all I could do was focus on what I lost. On how he could have left and how it felt like my life was over if I didn't have him in it. But hanging out with you has made me forget all of that for a while. It's been nice to feel like my life is so much more that just being someone's _girlfriend_. Plus, the training has been a fun distraction." I smile.

"Happy to help," he shrugs. "But you're wrong."

"Wrong about what?"

"You didn't lose him. You found yourself. He's the one who lost out here, Bella, not you. Plus I dislike him on principle so I can't be unbiased here."

"You shouldn't hate him just because he's a vampire, you know. I swear some of them are good." I'll never be able to dismiss all vampires as evil the way Liam has. "The Cullens are great — better than most of the humans I know. They're truly the best people I've ever met."

"Oh no, Liam laughs, "my issue with him isn't that he's a vampire. I mean clearly that isn't in his favour either, but no. I don't like the guy because he hurt you." He shrugs. "You deserved better."

"Oh… well, uh… thanks." I feel the pink flushing to my cheeks again and change the topic. "Did I ever tell you that this is where I first found out what vampires look like in the sun?"

"You've _seen _it?" His eyebrows raise in surprise. "I've never seen a vamp in direct sunlight. Do they really glow in the sun?" He asks, snorting slightly with a laugh.

"Not funny," I say picking up a twig and chucking it at him. "And it's not so much a glow as more of a _sparkle_." I roll my eyes as he bursts into a fit of giggles I didn't realise he was capable of.

"You mean to tell me, that while the greatest horror authors wrote vampires as terrifying beasts that burst into flames in the sunlight, the real things go _glittery?_" He falls into a manic hysterical laughter I've never seen. "I swear, I thought whoever wrote _The Guide_ was playing a prank when they put that in."

I put my hands on my hips and glare at him in a mock-irritation. When he looks at me I realise his eyes are full of tears as his chest heaves with laughter. He wipes his eyes, the last few chuckles subsiding.

I take his impaired vision as an opportunity to tackle him to the ground, pinning him down. His backpack topples over, its contents spilling over the grass but neither of us pays it any attention.

"Gotcha!" I squeal with childish delight as his face shifts from that of laughter to one of extreme bewilderment, and back to laughter when he takes in my giddiness.

"You're an insane person," he laughs and wraps his arms around me, both of us still laughing on the ground.

"Don't be bitter just because I got you this time," I say into his shoulder.

"You caught me off-guard so it doesn't count," he mutters to the top of my head.

"You catch vampires off-guard too," I say. I feel so smug over my tackle, he's not taking that away from me.

"Touché," is all he says.

We remain like this for a while — Liam's body under mine, talking into my hair and me replying into his shoulder as we lay sprawled on the grass of this place that I once associated so much with Edward. There's a tiny nagging voice of guilt in the back of my mind for being here and actually having fun without him. But Liam was right — Edward is the one who left, the one who gave up. I have nothing to feel guilty about, so that tiny voice can shut up as far as I'm concerned.

Liam shifts beneath me and in a swift movement is on his feet. Sometimes his movements are so smooth and fast that it's a wonder he's actually human. Years of training accomplishes incredible things, I guess. He stands in front of me, shielding me from something. But the familiar face some thirty paces away brings a jolt of excitement out of me. I step out of Liam's protective stance.

"Laurent!"

It takes me no more than a second to realise I probably should have kept my mouth shut. The only reason Laurent hadn't tried to kill me last year was that I was under the protection of a vampire coven that outnumbered him, James and Victoria. I didn't have the Cullens anymore… but maybe he was safe. He had gone to live with another coven in Alaska — a coven that, much like Forks' former inhabitants, didn't eat humans.

Liam tensed beside me, keeping his eyes on the perceived threat but not insisting on covering me again. It takes me a second to realise what he's thinking and when it sinks in I'm filled with an unfamiliar sense of pride — he's trusting my judgement.

"Bella?" Laurent's smooth voice responds. He sounds astonished, he clearly hadn't been expecting to find me here, much less plopped on top of someone on the ground. I blush at the thought of what he must be assuming.

"You remember me." I relax my shoulders but notice Liam doesn't take his eyes off of Laurent. "You're back? How was Alaska?" Why am I making small talk with a potentially dangerous vampire?

Liam is as still as a statue, not a word or movement out of him as Laurent steps forward slowly, processing my line of questioning.

"I did go to Alaska. Still, I didn't expect… When I found the Cullen place empty, I thought they'd moved on."

"Oh…" I say, lost for words for a moment, "well yes… they, uh, did."

"And you did not go with them?" He asks with almost a sneer, "Edward seemed rather… _fond_ of you." He glances at Liam with a smirk.

With Laurent's next step alarms start ringing in my brain. His eyes are not the molten gold colour that comes with the Cullens' preferred diet — they're a deep, horrifying red. I focus on seeming unfazed as I respond "They visit all the time. They're on their way back right now, actually." My lie doesn't come out as smoothly as I had hoped.

"Victoria will be happy to know you're here. Unguarded, in fact. She has plans for you. The loss of James was devastating for her. And, of course, your Edward was responsible."

"What plans?" I ask, attempting nonchalance.

"To kill you, of course," he says matter-of-factly. "She will be ever so angry at me. But I cannot resist — it has been so long since I've had a good meal — and you do smell… simply mouthwatering".

"That's enough!" Liam's voice is hard as ice as he breaks his silence. "Do not threaten Bella in front of me." He glares at Laurent and something like recognition sparks in the vampires ruby eyes.

"_Venandi,_" Laurent spits. "I have no war with you, hunter. Leave me to my meal and there need be no bloodshed between us."

"You'll get out of here and keep your mouth shut about Bella if you know what's good for you." Liam doesn't take his eyes off of Laurent as the threat leaves his lips. I've never heard this icy tone or seen this menacing look on Liam's face. He looks almost… _scary. _

Laurent laughs, humourless and musical. His eyes shift to me again. "Well, well, well. Seems like you like big strong men protecting you. The vampire leaves and you jump into bed with the vampire hunter. How delicious."

My face flushes as I shout "you don't know what you're talking about!"

"Hmm… yes… I think there has been enough _talk _for the moment." Laurent purrs. I blink and in flash he's right in front of me, his fingers digging into my shoulder, tilting my head up to look into those terrifying eyes.

"Please… no…" I say and I see the feeling of triumph light up his face. In that moment I see something I had never seen in a vampire before. He doesn't look beautiful and predatory; he just looks dead. Like a _thing,_ more than a person. Laurent's cocky murderous grin widens at my disgust, which he seems to miscalculate as fear, and Liam takes the opening and kicks him to the ground. Liam's arm swings back and launches a punch at the vampire's face with so much force I'm surprised it doesn't immediately snap.

My heart races as I look around for Liam's backpack. _There!_ I see the glint of the machete-like blade sticking halfway out of the bag and I dive towards it, wincing slightly at the pain in my shoulder.

"You filthy human," Laurent spits at Liam. "Do you know how many of your kind I have ripped to shreds? Do you have any idea what I can do to you and your little slu-" His rant is cut off as a series of growls approaches.

"I don't believe it," he mutters as he backs away, genuine fear on his face.

I feel the same fear as those huge bear-like creatures run towards us. My heart thrums in my ears as I recall the day I saw these same wolves with Jacob. They had seemed disinterested then, barely sparing us a glance. But not this time. No, now they're growling in unison and I'm frozen in fear.

There are more of them now than there had been that day. My hands shake and I feel myself running on autopilot as the wolves draw nearer. One wolf, the dark silver coloured one, is so close I could reach out and touch it but I don't want to draw it's attention to me. It seems focused on Laurent, but he'd kill all these wolves a lot faster than Liam and I would be able to escape. The wolf would likely make lunch out of me once he realised that Laurent wasn't going to be an easy meal.

My heartbeat thrums in my ears as I grip the blade handle tightly and take bold swipe at the silvery wolf. It turns to me with a growl and I fall back to the ground. What was I thinking, attacking a dangerous predator? The wolf locks his brown eyes on mine and growls again taking a step towards me preparing to pounce. A loud growl breaks through from the black wolf in the lead and the menacing one I swiped at — still bleeding from the gash on its front leg — lets out a whine and looks down at the ground for a beat before carrying on to join the others in ganging up on the vampire. Those poor overgrown dogs were toast.

I run towards Liam, grab his hand and pull, trying to get him out of there. "Let's go!" I whisper, trying not to draw Laurent's attention while the wolves distract him. "He's going to come after us once he's done with the wolves." I choke down my fear and continued to yank Liam's unmoving arm.

"I don't think so, Bella," he says, a calmness in his voice that seems almost funny in this situation. "Look!" He says gesturing towards the wolves surrounding Laurent, the vampire's face filled with the fear that had been absent from Liam's.

It made no sense for Laurent to be so afraid. What good would those wolves teeth do against the rock-hard skin of a vampire? My confusion escalates as the vampire runs into the woods, the wolves all running after him. One wolf, a russet-brown one lingers behind a moment, seeming to look from Liam to me and back. For a second it looked as if Liam nodded before the wolf turned to follow its friends, leaving Liam and I in peace.


End file.
